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Ready to go for a run? Ready to go for a kinda-exposed, three-minute run with an 800-foot drop on your right-hand side? Welcome to trail running in Switzerland. Okay… mind you, it’s not always like this. Most of the time, a mountain run here means pastures, snowfields, herds of cows and flocks of sheep. Café

I wasn’t really looking for an antidote to the many big, famous alp mountain races that dot the landscape here. But this morning, in the Swiss canton of Valais, near the border with France and not too very far from Italy, I certainly found one. Part of the Valais Cup mountain running series—a collection of mostly short, steep mountain races that

When talking about trail running in the Swiss alps, discussions usually turn to the dramatic: the thousands of meters climbed, the peaks summited, the distances covered. For me, though, one of the great pleasures is the family farm. In Switzerland, many alp farms fly the Swiss flag, a sign that the farm sells its products and perhaps offers a few other local goodies and refreshments like homemade bread or hot coffee.  For

This past week, Jim Maddock and I found ourselves in the Val Anniviers, looking for great trail running routes along the course of the fabled Sierre-Zinal trail race route.  (We found them! But, that’s a story for some other time.) Running along, chatting, half distracted, we were enjoying a late summer, sunny alp afternoon on a ridge a thousand meters above the village

What makes Sierre-Zinal such a remarkable event? For what I look for in a trail race, there’s none better. In fact, nothing is even close.

When I registered for the Swissalpine half-marathon in Davos, I expected something … wild, just like its name implied. If you read my blog about the Aletsch half marathon, and after reading this one, you’ll probably think, “this guy is never satisfied!” Well, I AM French and, like a lot of French people, I complain

Changing trains in Landquart, my last switch before arriving in Davos, I’m uncertain which track I want. I look around me, and realize everyone looks like a runner. They’re moving towards platform 2. I follow and hop on the train. Salomon, Inov8, Nathan and Patagonia. I don’t even bother to check the destination. Davos is

Starting off on a long, hard run is a bit like being handed a book to read without a cover or title. As the pages unfold, you come to find out what each successive chapter has in store for you. Misery? Elation? New friends, wild animals, injury, dramatic alpine scenery rarely glimpsed by others? The

21.1 km, “28 years of success” according to the website, 2500 registered runners, arrival at 2800m and a breathtaking view all along: that’s the Aletsch half-marathon. I’ve been training for this not because I wanted to finish in good time, but because I wanted to be able to take advantage of the view instead of

I’ve admired Dan and Janine’s Patitucci’s photography for years. Their stunning photos seem to grace every magazine I read and every catalog through which I thumb. In fact, I still have a page torn from a magazine from when I first incorporated Run the Alps. It’s a beautiful image of running in the Alps, and the